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Too Far: J.T. Barrett sideline injury much ado about nothing

Graham Messner, For the Public Opinion
Published 12:32 p.m. ET Nov. 28, 2017

Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett (16) is looked at by team officials after being sacked during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Barrett did not return after the sack. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)(Photo11: The Associated Press)

I’ve been fortunate over the years to be able to be on the sidelines at both Division I and Division II football games.

It’s the best.

You get a sense of the pace, intensity and fury on every play.

You also get a sense, especially at Division I, that there are way too many people mulling around.

The big thing to know when you are on the sideline is paying attention to what’s happening on the field. If you are simply hanging around and talking like you are at a cocktail party, you could get hurt when a play runs wide and guys tumble/run onto the sidelines trying to make a play.

There are also a lot of wild-eyed camera guys walking around with a lot of equipment in-hand and over-the-shoulder always in a hurry to get somewhere.

When Ohio State coach Urban Meyer brought up an incident in which starting quarterback J.T. Barrett was clipped in the knee area while he was warming up prior to Ohio State’s 31-20 win over rival Michigan by yet a still unidentified cameraman, sideline mayhem is what I thought about.

There are too many clueless people roaming around on some of these sidelines. It’s like cattle chute filled with severely ADHD livestock.

Barrett eventually left the game in the third quarter and never returned. After the game, Meyer got all huffed up about the camera guy and Barrett did a reconstruction of the event.

While both have a serious point to make about what may have happened, I’m having a hard time with everyone blaming the KGB of cameramen for Barrett having to leave the game.

First off, Barrett has been dealing with a recurring meniscus in his knee.

Did Barrett tell Meyer of the incident right after it happened? If so, why did Meyer play him?

If Barrett was limping after being hit by the camera, he certainly didn’t appear to be limping when the game started. Had there been a noticeable limp, there would’ve been talk about what the issue was and assumedly shots of backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins warming up.

There was none of that as Barrett ran 15 times for 67 yards and a touchdown and passed for another 30 yards and another TD on 3 of 8 passing.

So, up until all that, still no limp.

But then on a short run, Barrett was hit awkwardly by a pair of Michigan defenders. When the second hit landed as Barrett was all but down, I literally said, “Oooo, man. He got drilled.”

Barrett didn’t get up.

He then was helped off by the athletic trainers as he limped slowly.

Clearly something happened during that play that changed his ability to carry on and it didn’t involve a camera.

So, what’s the deal?

Barrett is a tough player and I believe he tried to downplay the event in his reconstruction.

But Meyer was the one calling 9-1-1 on trying to find out who the shadowy camera guy was and whether, now get this, he tried to hit Barrett as if the guy really was some sort of black operative Wolverine-tied cameraman.

Oh yeah, and never mind, the backup Haskins played very well to lead the Buckeyes to victory. Why even bring the cameraman up? What’s the point? You won the game.

Maybe Meyer impishly wanted to bring it up so that the athletic staff could have a reason to begin limiting sideline passes to every donor, sponsor, former player and their families in future seasons. Depending on the game, the athletic staff faces a political nightmare in regard to who gets the passes. Been there, done that.

In the end, OSU got the win over its rival.

I just wish the focus could’ve been about the team win and not some wild Amelia Earhart Kodakgate mystery that may or may not have had anything to do with anything.

Things have gone too far for too long.

Graham Messner has been a writer for many years and has also been involved in real estate, fundraising and coaching. He can be reached at toofar@gmx.com.